Biologically inspired navigation: The potential for the use of natural signals for localization and navigation
Abstract
The ability of animals to navigate over long distances with relative ease has both fascinated, and intrigued man for a long time and significant effort has been invested in understanding this phenomenon. These studies have suggested that animals use the wealth of information present in their surroundings to aid their navigation. The current effort seeks to study the feasibility of a system that would mimic natures navigational systems and complement the Global positioning system (GPS). Equipped with highly sensitive modern day sensors, these systems are expected to perform better than the more basic sensors that the animals are believed to possess. The study proposes using the vectors of the local geomagnetic field, the direction of the sun at the time, and acceleration due to gravity, which constitute a unique natural frame of reference at any point on Earth. A combination of 3-axis magnetometer, Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) array, and accelerometers-all in the realm of a few grams can measure these quantities. We show that measurement of these quantities at sufficient resolution uniquely identifies a location on the earth at a particular time. For night-time navigation, the angle to the sun can be replaced by angles to the moon or specific stars. Point-to-point navigation can be attained through simply supplying way points in terms of these vectors. We calculate the accuracy of localization and orientation as a function of sensor resolution. We list some of the signal processing challenges that need to be tackled in the implementation of such a system.
Degree
M.S.E.C.E.
Advisors
Hu, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Electrical engineering
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